Twilight's Iliad
by naminestar
Summary: A Roxas and Namine story, based on the true, blue Homer's Iliad. The kids are in high school, Namine and Roxas are best friends fighting a losing battle to stay that way with their family and school rivalry trying to tear them apart.
1. Chapter 1

Twilight's Iliad

Chapter 1: The War begins

It was late Sunday when I realized something; I was in love with my best friend.

We had been hanging out at his house while my parents were fighting, all day. Most likely I'd be spending the night at his house. We did that a lot, well hanging out anyways, but I wanted to do something else, something I'd never thought of before. We were playing guitar hero, competition mode, and of course I was kicking his butt.

"You're so going down Namine Selene," Roxas Trenton growled, his eyes locked on the screen and his fingers flying on the buttons.

I watched the colors fly down the screen, moving my fingers across my own controller. As we hit the last section, he missed three notes, putting me in the lead again. We hit the last note and the screen read, **Player Two Wins!**

"You wish," I laughed nudging him with my shoulder, "I beat you with a broken finger no less!"

"You cheat," he muttered.

I laughed. "If that makes you feel like you don't suck, go ahead and believe that I cheat. It's just a matter of time before you realize that I actually am better than you, broken finger and all."

Roxas rolled his eyes and scrolled through the songs, selecting a new one. I groaned as he chose one of the hardest.

"So tomorrows the big day," he said, selecting his difficulty, "We go back to being enemies."

I sighed and put my controller down, "Can't wait."

All schools have a rivalry of some sort, but the one between Twilight High and Traverse High was legendary. It made sense, I suppose, our mascots where the Nobodies and the Keyblades. As the key blades fought the Nobodies, our schools fought wars in just about everything.

The rivalry had gone on since before my parents had gone to the high schools, maybe that's why they still fought a lot. Back when we had our first sporting event against each other. The game was taking place at Twilight High and everything seemed to be going fine, at least till the last quarter. Now our biggest rivalry was on the soccer field, that's where everything started going wrong. On that fateful game, a Twilight goalie had gone to get the ball. Covering it with his body, a Traverse player had run up and kicked him in the head to get the ball. When the referee tried to figure out what was going on the Traverse player denied kicking the goalie saying that he had no possession of the ball at the time. Eventually everyone was fighting and the police were called.

Twilight lost the game, the goalie was unable to play for the rest of the season, and war between the schools was declared. During my parents' time at the high schools, the schools played horrible pranks against each other. At one point, Twilight released a flock of heartless into Traverse, causing mass panic. In retaliation, Traverse students lined the halls with itching powder and spoiled milk.

The rivalry was legendary between the school districts, every one new about it. Everyone had a story to tell. Everyone acted like they played a part in keeping it alive.

Roxas went to Traverse.

I went to Twilight.

It was sad really, especially since my older brothers, Riku and Cloud, didn't want me hanging out with Roxas at all. They blamed him for me injuring my finger on a bike ride. When really I had just been trying to fix my chain and the bike fell over. In truth Riku use to be best friends with Sora, Roxas's older brother. When they started high school that changed though, now they wouldn't even see each other without fighting.

Roxas handed me my controller, and I blinked taking it from him. Our hands brushed as the controller switched hands, bringing a blush to my cheeks and a sudden shift from him back to the screen. We started playing again, but I was just too distracted by him to pay attention. Every move he made was magnified ten times to me, especially when he shifted so our legs where touching. My fingers slipped from the keys on the last part and the game was over. Roxas threw his hands in the air and gave a yell of excitement.

"Alright! I just kicked your butt!"

"It's just a stupid game," I muttered tossing the guitar aside and crossing my arms.

"Aw, what's wrong Nami?" he asked with a taunting smile, "Sad because I just owned you?"

I laughed slightly and bopped him on the head with the palm of my hand.

"Ouch," he said grinning at me before poking my ribs, "Let's play again."

"No," I said, "I'm bored."

"Oh come on," Roxas laughed, "You're just scared. You never do anything in your life that scares you."

"Really?" I asked, wanting to prove him wrong but not knowing the best way to do it.

I've thought about kissing Roxas more than once, dreamed about it, and even drew it. But I'd always been terrified of actually doing it, afraid of destroying our friendship.

We'd met three years ago at a summer camp, when Roxas found me hiding in the woods eating six sea salt ice creams that I'd stolen from the counselors' office while everyone else was watching a movie. I had planned on sharing it with my cabin mates to make friends. I didn't have any, because no one ever wanted to talk to me.

But then I heard them talking about me as I neared the cabin, laughing at my drawings and clothes. I decided to go to the woods and eat the ice cream myself. I was starting on the fourth one when Roxas found me; he was actually looking for a wristband he had lost earlier.

I'd seen him around the camp before, but I never had the nerve to talk to him. Not only was he a Keyblade, even at camps Keyblades and Nobodies didn't hang out, but also because he was always around other people because of his personality. And I…I had no friends before Roxas. It didn't help that Riku always picked on me and being a star on the soccer team everyone followed his example.

Now, the forest was a big place, but I wasn't exactly happy about being found. I was about to get up, run, and throw some ice cream at his face when he suddenly took the ice cream from my hand and started eating it, somehow after that he made me laugh. We'd been inseparable ever since, even thought our schools where rivals. Unfortunately, we had to deal with our siblings' constant harassment over being friends.

But still, the thought of being more than friends had popped into my head last year. And since then, it would _not_ go away. And trust me, I'd tried to force it away by thinking about things like Roxas sick with a runny nose, red rimmed eyes, and throw up breath. Not even that would get the thoughts out of my head.

So I leaned in towards him, closing the distance between our faces on the blue couch and planted my lips on his before I could change my mind. I wouldn't have ever done it if Roxas hadn't taunted me like that.

I was kissing my best friend.

The guy who had seen me sick in bed, in my grungy pajamas, with awful bed head, and so many other embarrassing things that I never even thought about until that moment, but…I liked it.

I was kissing Roxas.

And I loved it.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay guys! I worked hard on this chapter. Disclaimer: I do not own kingdom Hearts or the characters, nor the Iliad.

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><p>Chapter 2: An Unexpected Breakup<p>

I pulled away, keeping my eyes on the framed picture of Roxas and Sora on the soccer field behind his head. Roxas still hadn't moved. He seemed shocked, the controller still pinched in his hands as he stared at me.

I heard the front door open and a moment later, Roxas's older brother, Sora, entered the room, followed by his girlfriend of three years, Kairi Robbins, and his friend Titus, who was also on the Traverse soccer team.

"I'm not done talking to you, Sora," Kairi said, her hands on her hips.

"Well I'm done listening Kairi." Sora plopped onto the couch between Roxas and me. Taking the controller out of my hands, "Who wants to play me?"

I glanced at Roxas from the corner of my eye. He was still frozen in place.

Sora waved his hand in front of his brother's face, "What's up with you? Playing or not?"

Roxas snapped back out of his stupor and tossed his controller to the floor, "No way, you cheat."

"Aw is little Roxy-poo scared of a little challenge?" Sora asked, poking out his lower lip.

"I'll play," Tidus said, scooping the controller off the floor and sitting on the other side of the couch.

Kairi glared down at Sora with her cobalt blue eyes, "If you have nothing better to do than play video games, I'm going home."

"See ya," Sora called, not looking away from the TV.

I glanced at Kairi to distract myself from the fact that _I had just kissed my best friend_. Kairi was a sophomore, like me, while Sora and his friends were juniors.

Two things made the Traverse-Twilight rivalry even more heated this year: One, my brother Cloud had brought down the star of Traverse's offence – a wild card named Leon – in a game between our two schools the year before. Not only did that secure the win for Twilight in that particular game, but also since it was early season and Leon had twisted his ankle pretty badly, he was unable to play in any of Traverse's remaining games that year. Therefore, Traverse had no chance at winning the regional championship. Traverse held Cloud responsible. And they were out to get him.

The second reason the rivalry had grown so huge this year was that over summer the board of education had redrawn the school district lines to help ease overcrowding at Traverse. This meant that some of the Traverse students would now be attending Twilight High, starting tomorrow.

And the most beautiful girl at Traverse, Kairi Robbins, was one of those students.

My stomach twisted just a little at the thought of Kairi being set loose among the guys at Twilight High. That couldn't lead to anything good. She was the kind of girl who could really drive guys crazy.

Kairi looked over at me. "I don't know how you do it Namine. How do you stand being around these immature little _boys_ all day while they play video games?"

None of the guys seemed to hear her. Or they were probably just ignoring her.

"Uh…" I said, removing myself from the couch and Roxas's presence, "I'm…going to get something to eat."

"Bring me a sea-salt ice cream," Sora said.

"Me too," Tidus piped in as his fingers flew over the game controller.

Roxas stared at the screen, his face a slight tinge of pink, and didn't say a word.

I jumped up from the couch and practically dashed into the kitchen. I leaned on the counter for a moment, and took a long, deep breath.

What had I done? I had to be the stupidest, most insane –

"Can you believe what a jerk Sora can be?" said a voice behind me.

I turned to see Kairi had followed me into the kitchen. She stood with her arms crossed and her face creased into a dark scowl. She was even more gorgeous when she was angry.

I busied myself by getting a sea-salt ice cream. After licking it, I said, "Why are you with him if he's a jerk?"

Kairi snorted, "Good question." She sighed and flicked her red hair over her shoulder. "Take it from me Namine. Guys are nothing but giant pains. At least you got the nice Trenton brother."

I nearly dropped my ice cream on the floor and choked on a bite I had taken, "W-what! I don't….Roxas isn't…"

"I had hoped that Sora might one day grow up and stop being such a self-centered baby, but apparently that'll never happen," Kairi went on, as if she didn't hear my stammering, "I could dump him right now and he'd never notice because he's too busy playing video games." She raised her fists in front of her and shook them, and gave a growl of frustration.

I followed her back into the den, where the boys still sat in front of the TV.

"I'm leaving," Kairi announced in a loud voice.

No one seemed to hear her. Sora's and Tidus's rockers battled on screen, and Roxas still stared blankly at the screen.

Kairi glared at Sora a moment longer, but he didn't seem to notice the death-ray look she shot him. Finally, Kairi gave an aggravated groan, spun on her heel, and stomped out of the room. I heard the front door slam shut behind her.

The guys still sat on the couch, oblivious.

"You are so dead," Sora said. He was an active player, tilting and strumming the controller while he punched the buttons and bounced in his seat.

I sneaked a few glances at Roxas while Tidus and Sora battled it out. What was Roxas thinking? Was he thinking about the fact that we had just kissed? Was he ever going to speak to me again? Was he going to pretend nothing happened?

I had to get out of there before I drove myself insane. Greg obviously thought it was a huge mistake. I could take the hint.

"I'll see you guys later," I said, standing up. "I'm going home."

"You want me to ride with you?" Roxas asked.

I knew he would have gone with me if I had said yes, but I didn't want the ride to be a long, uncomfortable moment of silence.

"No it's okay. See you later."

"Bye!" Roxas and Owen called as I left the room. I didn't think Sora even noticed what went on outside of the video game.

I lifted my face toward the late summer sun as I rode my bike away from Roxas's house. I couldn't believe how fast the summer had disappeared and how it was time to go back to school already.

School was not my favorite place in the world. Sure, I was in the Twilight High color-guard team and I really did enjoy dancing with the flags and making up routines. But the rest of high-school – the cliques, the popularity contests, and the gossip – I was not a fan of.

Halfway home, a car horn beeped behind me. I turned and watched the silver Toyota slow to a stop.

"Need a ride?" my brother Cloud asked, leaning out the passenger window.

I looked in the backseat, surprised to see in empty. Riku and Cloud usually had a carload of their friends riding around town with them. Or at least, as many as could fit into the beat-up car that they shared.

"Sure," I said.

Cloud got out and helped me put my bike into the trunk. Then just as I reached out to grab the door handle to get in, the car moved forward two feet.

"Riku, stop it," I said. I reached for the handle again, but once more Riku let off the brake and made the car lurch forward.

"Seriously, stop," Cloud said.

"I'm just playing," Riku insisted. He grinned at me as I climbed into the backseat. "Namine knows that. Don't you, Nami?"

"Yeah, you're _so_ hilarious," I muttered.

As we rode toward home, Riku and Cloud talked about the game coming up that weekend about Destiny High. I watched them as they spoke, studied their hand gestures and facial expressions. They both looked casual and relaxed, as if being cool came naturally to them. And maybe it did. Maybe they got all the genes that made people popular, so there were none left for me when I came along.

How could I be the younger sister of the two most popular guys at Twilight High and yet be a complete social outcast?

"So Nami," riku said, looking at me in the rearview mirror, "Been at the Keyblade's house again?"

I refused to meet his gaze and instead looked out at the passing houses. "He has a name."

"I hope he doesn't have any crazy ideas about Traverse beating us this season," Riku said, ignoring my response. "We'll fertilize the field with Keyblade remains, just like we did last year. Right, Cloud?"

Cloud grunted in response.

"Actually, I've heard the Keyblades have a pretty good team this year," I said, just to annoy Riku. He talked big before every game. "Leon's ankle is good as new, and it sounds like he's out for blood after what happened last year."

Riku scowled and his knuckles tightened around the steering wheel. "Just wait and see. We'll destroy the Keyblades, especially your little boyfriend."

My neck flamed and I snapped, "He's not my boyfriend! And Roxas doesn't even play sports!"

"Lay off her Riku," Cloud told him. "Save it for the soccer field."

"Oh. I will," Riku said. "The Keyblades will never forget us."


	3. Chapter 3

Hi guys it's me again and here is the next chapter :) things are heating up!

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><p>Chapter 3: First Day of School<p>

"NOBODIES RULE!" Riku shouted, pumping a fist into the air.

My brother had climbed onto the statue that stood outside the Twilight High gymnasium, to the delight of his fans – cheerleaders, mostly, who all giggled up at him. The statue of an Organization member standing next to a heartless stood with its arms crossed in the courtyard in front of the gym. The Nobody wore an outfit like the paintings I'd seen in history books: a black cloak with silver accents. The color-guard uniform was less bulky and more like a dress than a cloak. The hoods always came off and messed up our hair. It wasn't as bad as when the school first started and there was feather's on the uniforms. Oh yeah, it wasn't embarrassing at _all_ to be seen dressed like that.

Cloud didn't even glance at Riku as he said, "Get down before you break your neck."

Riku sat on the Nobody's shoulders. "You ruin all my fun," he complained.

"Don't fall," Selphie, a cheerleader, screeched, sounding as if she was terrified Riku would fall to his death from a height of four feet off the ground.

I sat nearby, on a bench along the brick path around the courtyard. All the most popular students hung out in the courtyard before classes each morning.

I was only allowed to sit in the vicinity because I was related to Riku and Cloud. If it weren't for the luck of birth, I would have been forced to the losers' circle – otherwise known as the front hall of the main building – with everyone else not worth enough for the courtyard.

On second thought, I probably wouldn't even be welcome in the losers' circle. The geniuses where too smart for me and the average kids thought I was too smart for them. The artists already didn't like me in art club or class for that matter.

So the only reason I sat in the courtyard was because everyone there pretty much ignored me and left me alone.

Well, everyone except Riku.

Riku had slid off the Nobody and survived – much to the delight of Selphie, I was sure. I didn't see him making his way toward me until he thumped the back of the sketch I pretended to draw.

"You always have your nose stuck in some drawing," Riku said.

"Some of us like to express ourselves," I told him.

Riku snatched the sketch away from me and read the title I had scribbled in the corner of the paper. It wasn't the title of the sketch but of the book I wanted to read. "_Dueling with Desire_," he said raising his eyebrows.

He said it in a loud enough voice that it caught the attention of several people sitting nearby. My face grew hot as they all looked our way.

"Give me that," I said snatching the sketch back and shoving it into my backpack.

"Do mom and dad know what kind of books you like to read?" Riku asked, giving me and his captive audience that stupid grin of his. "Aren't you a little young to be reading anything with the word 'desire' in the title?"

Laughter filled the air around us.

"Maybe she's trying to experience romance though a book," Selphie said. "Since she hasn't had any in real life."

I looked up at Riku, pleading silently with him to be my brother and stand up for my honor.

But I knew he wouldn't. That wasn't Riku's style. He favored his reputation over anything else.

"Lay off her," Cloud said in his deep, gruff voice. Immediately, the courtyard fell silent. The birds stopped chirping in the trees overhead, as if even they listened to anything Cloud Selene had to say.

"I'm just having a little fun," Riku said, shrugging. He turned away and headed back towaed Selphie and her friends.

I didn't look at anyone as I gathered up my things and walked away as fast as I could, my cheeks still burning with embarrassment.

Would it kill them to be nice to me? To let me be a part of their group? You would think maybe someone would want to be my friend just because of my brothers. But no, I couldn't even manage to get someone to use me to get closer to them.

The warning bell rang and I headed toward my first class, English.

"Namine!" a voice called when I walked into the room. Kairi Robbins sat near the back, waving at me as if we were the best of friends.

I looked behind me to make sure there wasn't another Namine standing nearby. Stupid thought, since it wasn't a very common name.

"Hi!" Kairi said when I forced myself to walk toward her. "You're in this class?"

I nodded. "Mr. Lea's English class, right?" I asked, to make sure I hadn't stumbled into a parallel dimension.

"Yep." Kairi gestured toward the seat in front of her. "Sit down."

I sat, feeling a little dazed.

"I'm so glad to see you!" she said. "I was afraid I wouldn't know anyone in any of my classes. But thankfully, you came in!" She smiled wide at me. "You don't know how relieved I am to see a friendly face."

Was she serious?

"I heart only about fifty Traverse kids got sent to Twilight," Kairi told me. "The rest of the redistricted kids got sent to Halloween High."

"Did any of your friends get transferred here?" I asked.

"No, just me. Everyone else got to star at Traverse. Lucky brats." Kairi sighed, a soft floaty sound. Even her sighs where beautiful. Mine came out sounding like a congested old man. "I wish I was back at Traverse now. I can't believe I have to spend the rest of high school _here_. Think I could convince my parents to move to the Traverse district?"

"Uh…I don't know," I said.

At the front of the room, a tall skinny, red headed man called the class to order. His hair seemed to defy gravity in the way it was spiked. "Welcome to the new school year," he said. "I'm Mr. Lea. That's L-E-A. Got it memorized? And this is sophomore literature. As I call your name, please come forward to take one of these textbooks." He gestured toward a stack of thick books on the corner of his desk.

"As you all know, the school district lines were redrawn this summer and some former Traverse students were reassigned to Twilight. We have one of those students in this class, Kairi Robbins," Mr. Lea continued.

Everyone turned to look at her and a few boys whistled. I would have sunk down in my seat if I had been singled out, but Kairi just smiled back, dazzling everyone with her pearly whites and sparkling cobalt blue eyes.

"Let's make Kairi and the other former Traverse students fell welcome here at Twilight," Mr. Lea said. "I'm sure changing schools like this must be tough, and we should do everything we can to make this easier for them. Kairi, welcome to Twilight."

When the bell rang forty-five minutes later, Kairi groaned loudly. "Can you believe Mr. Lea pointed me out like that?" she asked me as she stuffed her English book into her baby-pink backpack.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm sure everyone will be your best friend now that Mr. Lea told them to."

Kairi laughed. "Exactly. That'll be _so_ great for my reputation."

My stomach twisted just a little at her words. Kairi needed to be concerned about more than Mr. Lea's pointing her out in class if she worried about her reputation. Talking to me wasn't the best plan.

"What class do you have next?" she asked as we walked into the hall.

I checked my schedule. "Art. You?"

"History," Kairi made a face. "Oh, well, I guess maybe we'll see each other again later. I hope so, I need someone to talk to here or I'll go crazy."

I smiled. Life would go back to normal very soon, I knew. Once Kairi got in with the In crowd at Twilight, she'd forget all about me and I would go back to being ignored.

Only, I thought as I headed toward art, it had been really nice having someone to talk to before and after class. And having someone to roll my eyes with when Mr. Lea started talking about how this school year would help prepare us for the rest of our lives.

I enjoyed the thought of having a friend at Twilight High. But she would dump me for the cool kids soon enough.

Later that day, I considered skipping lunch so I wouldn't have to be seen eating alone on the first day of school, but my stomach growled with hunger. I felt like I could eat about four bowls of watery school spaghetti, so after dropping my books off at my locker I made my way toward the cafeteria.

"Namine, hey!" Kairi appeared at my side as I walked through the double doors into the cafeteria. The Twilight High cafeteria was actually really nice. Murals painted on the walls showed Nobodies doing battle against Keyblade wielders, Kingdom hearts watching from the sky.

"Hey," I greeted her. "Are you getting lunch?"

Kairi nodded, "I'm starving."

"Me too." We joined the hot lunch line and waited for our turn at the counter.

"Wow," Kairi said surveying the food. "It looks like the same old disgusting lunch they serve at Traverse. Do all the schools get their recipes from the same place?"

"Maybe they train their lunch ladies to cook the same way at every school in the country," I said, glancing at the lunch lady behind the counter, who spooned soupy mashed potatoes into Styrofoam bowls. "Like there's this team of teachers who go around the country showing them how to make Mystery Meat."

Kairi laughed as she took a ham-and-cheese sandwich. "You're probably right."

I took the spaghetti and a bowl of peaches and a bowl of Jell-O and moved down the line toward the cash register. After Kairi and I had gotten drinks and paid for our lunches, we turned to survey the cafeteria. Most of the tables where already taken, so I started to walk toward the door to the courtyard, where I usually ate alone.

"Come on, Namine," Kairi said. "I have a table for us already."

How had she gotten a table ahead of time? Could girls like Kairi actually reserve tables in the school cafeteria?

I followed Kairi as she wound though the tables toward the back of the room. In front of the mural, showing a boy with silver hair giving a heart to Kingdom Hearts, sat a table occupied by two cheerleaders, Selphie and Olette.

The girls turned to smile at Kairi as she made her way toward them. When they spotted me, they exchanged confused glances. Kairi didn't seem to notice.

"Hi Kairi," Selphie said.

"Hey," Kairi sat her tray down and gestured toward me. "Do you guys know Namine?"

The girls smiled politely at me as I sat down at one of the empty seats.

"Hi," I said.

"Hey," Olette said. I could see the laughter she was holding back as the gossip over camp went through her mind.

I smiled, trying not to look as panicked as I felt. How had she done it? Kairi had been at Twilight for exactly half a day and already she'd made friends. Not just friends, but Twilight equivalents of herself. I'd been going to school with these kids since kindergarten and they'd never let me into their group.

I was doomed. Once Kairi realized I would never be like her or Olette or Selphie, I'd be friendless at Twilight once again.

I decided my best plan was to keep my mouth full so I couldn't talk and say something stupid in front of them. I began shoveling spaghetti into my mouth. I nearly gagged at the terrible taste, but I forced it down and kept chewing.

"Selphie, Olette, and I met last week at cheerleader orientation," Kairi told me.

"So, how do you like Twilight?" Olette asked Kairi, her eyes moving from Kairi to me. She made a face before looking away.

"It's been good so far," Kairi said. "Everyone is staring at me like I'm some kind of freak, but it's not too bad."

"You are a freak," Selphie said laughing, "A Keyblade freak. But once the stench of Traverse wears off, you'll fit right in here."

"So how do you know Namine?" Olette asked.

My hands started to shake a little as I waited for Kairi to tell them that we were just casual acquaintances, not real friends, and she'd only latched onto me that morning because she didn't want to be a friendless loser.

"Namine and I have been best friends for years," Kairi said. "Isn't that right Nami?"

I stared at her, my hands frozen over my tray. Best friends? Years? Before today, I didn't think Kairi even knew who I was other than her boyfriend's brother's friend.

"Uh," I said, trying to wrap my mind around the idea of being Kairi Robbins's best friend. "Yeah, best friends…forever..."

Kairi flashed me a wide smile and then bit into her sandwich.

The two girls looked from me to Kairi and back again for a moment. Then they looked at each other, shrugged slightly, and resumed eating.

"Hello, ladies," said a drawing voice behind me. "How are the most beautiful girls at Twilight High today?"

I knew without turning around who the voice belonged to.

Selphie giggled. "Hi, Riku," she said.

"And who is this?" Riku asked, his eyes locked on Elena.

I saw Olette's eyebrows go up in surprise. "Haven't you already met your sister's best friend?" she asked.

Oh, nice. My voyage into popularity lasted all of, what? Five seconds?

But Kairi seemed to be a quick thinker. "Namine and I usually hang out at my house," she said. "Since I'm an only child and I have more privacy." She smiled at Riku and extended one hand. "Kairi Robbins. I use to go to Traverse."

"If I knew Keyblade girls were this gorgeous, I'd have changed schools a long time ago. I'm Riku Selene. I can't believe you've never introduced us before, dear little sister," he said, wrapping one arm around my neck in a hug and early strangling me. I slapped his arm away.

One glance at Kairi told me she was just as smitten as Riku. Her cheeks had turned a faint pink color making her look even prettier, which I didn't think could be possible. She glanced up at Riku, then looked away quickly, giggling.

I wanted to say something about Sora, to remind Kairi that she already had a boyfriend. But I also didn't want to lose the one possible friend at Twilight I had.

"What grade are you in?" Riku asked Kairi.

"I'm a sophomore," she told him.

"Oh, a young'un," Riku said grinning. "I'm a junior."

I rolled my eyes. He talked as if he were a decade older than us. "You're just about ready for the retirement home, aren't you?" I asked.

No one seemed to hear my sarcasm. Or they ignored it if they did.

Riku glanced at his watch and then ran a hand through his hair. "I need to go. I've got some things to do before my next class. But it was great to meet you, Kairi. I'll definitely be seeing you around. If you ever need anything, find me."

Riku smiled one last time at Kairi before he left.

Selphie and Olette leaned forward, squealing in unison.

"Riku is so crazy over you!" Olette told Kairi. "He is the hottest guy in school. Well, he and his brother, Cloud, who's a senior, are tied for hottest. But Riku is the hottest junior. And he'll definitely be asking you out sometime soon."

"Wait, wait," Selphie said, waving her hands. "No one has asked Kairi if she already has a boyfriend."

The two girls looked at her expectantly. I waited for Kairi to tell them all about Sora and how they'd been together off and on for years.

But Kairi shook her head and said, "No, I don't have a boyfriend. No one at all."

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><p>Oh my goodness! Kairi why! :) Looks like things are getting interesting. Please review and let me know what you think! 3<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Major Mistakes

"Left. Right. Jump. Throw." My color-guard coach, Ms. Sun, clapped her hands as she chanted. The Twilight High color-guard danced around the corner of the soccer field, everyone trying to keep in time with each other. It was hot, the late summer sun beat down on our heads, and school had ended nearly an hour ago.

But Ms. Sun devoted her life to guard practice and she said we didn't have time to waste, with homecoming only two months away.

We weren't the only ones suffering in the sun. The soccer players were shooting and running around the field in preparation for the game that weekend. The cheerleaders had been practicing cheers and pyramids, but were now lying on the grass, working on their tans and watching the soccer team.

"Right, Namine," Ms. Sun said. "Left, _right_, jump, throw."

Oh, give it up, Ms. Sun. I could never keep in step during practice last year, why did she think this year would be any different?

We were forced to endure another thirty minutes of dancing and throwing our flags to _Simple and Clean _before Ms. Sun finally let us go. Sweat had soaked my back and my blonde hair clung to my neck, making it darker.

"Hey Namine," Kairi greeted me as she made her way over to where I'd left my backpack and flags. Olette and Selphie followed her. "How was your practice."

"Torture," I said. "I need a cold shower."

Olette made a face. "I'm glad I dumped flag for cheerleading," she said. "One year of dancing in the sun was more than enough."

And yet, _jumping_ around in the sun was somehow better? It didn't make sense to me, but I figured it must be popular-girl logic.

"You should join cheerleading," Kairi told me. "Then we could hang out together at practice."

I snorted. "Me? A cheerleader? Did you not see me unable to keep a beat while dancing? Besides I'm way too shy to even think about cheerleading."

Kairi pouted. "Oh, well, I guess we can still hang out after practice and whenever we get a break at the games." She bounced on the balls of her feet. "I can't wait for the game on Saturday! It'll be so much fun!"

"I'm just looking forward to seeing the guys running around getting all sweaty," Selphie said, grinning as her gaze roamed over the soccer field.

"Yeah, well that's a given!" Kairi said, giggling.

"Especially one guy in particular," Olette said nudging Kairi's side. "Right?"

Kairi's cheeks reddened. "Maybe."

Coach Ven blew his whistle to signal the end of the practice, and the soccer players headed off the field. It was easy to pick out Cloud from the other guys. He stood taller than most, with broad shoulders and a thick, muscled body. Riku was tall too, though not as tall as Cloud, and thinner, with lean muscle and a narrow frame. They walked off the field differently: Cloud kind of stomped, his body still ridged and tense from practice, while Riku causally sauntered off the field, as if the workout had no effect on him at all.

"Hello, ladies," Riku said when he reached our little circle. He threw an arm around Kairi's shoulders and grinned down at her. "How's it going?"

"Ew," Kairi said, wrinkling her nose. "You smell sweaty."

She didn't make any movement to get away from his stench.

"My apologies, dear lady," Riku said, making a mocking, sweeping bow. "I shall now head off to the showers to wash away the stench of my manly toil."

I rolled my eyes.

But obviously I was the only one that thought Riku's display was revolting. Kairi, Olette, and Selphie all giggled and waved to him as he joined the line of guys headed for the little gray building that housed the locker rooms.

Olette and Selphie let out an earsplitting squeal.

"Did you see the way he put his arm around you?" Selphie asked Kairi.

"He totally wants to go out with you," Olette said.

"Don't you think so, Namine?" Selphie asked me. "I mean, you're Riku's sister. You know him better than we do."

I knew my brother liked to flirt with pretty girls. And I knew Kairi was just his type.

I also knew from the bad feeling in my stomach that things were not going to end well now that Kairi Robbins had come to Twilight. Especially not if she let her fascination with my brother make her forget about her longtime boyfriend.

All three girls were looking at me as if waiting for an answer, so I said, "Um, yeah…I guess so."

Kairi slipped her arm through mine. "Tell me about him," she said. "What's he like? What does he like to do for fun?"

I could tell her how Riku always managed to weasel his way out of doing his chores. Or about how when we were kids he tore the arms off my favorite doll. Or even how he fell madly in love with girls for two weeks and then got tired of them and moved on to someone else.

But I knew Kairi didn't want to hear any of that. And if I didn't watch myself, I'd end up sitting alone in the cafeteria again. I'd have to walk home from color-guard practice by myself instead of standing with the three prettiest girls at Twilight High, gossiping about boys.

And there was something about Kairi. Things were different when I was around her. I wanted to be like her. She made me want to be pretty and popular and crazy over soccer players (although not soccer players who happened to be my brothers, because that would be gross).

I wanted Kairi to be my friend. And I was afraid that the only way to have that was to tell her what she wanted to hear.

"Riku is…such a great brother," I gushed hesitantly. "He's really funny and always helps out around the house (Cloud…I was describing Cloud). He's a really great guy. He loves action movies and soccer, of course, and he sometimes helps my dad work on the family car. Riku is really smart about mechanical stuff."

Kairi squeezed my arm. "He's not seeing anyone, is he? Or is there anyone he likes?"

"No, I don't think so," I said, "Well, obviously he must like you, with the way he's been acting since he met you at lunch. But I haven't heard him say anything about liking anyone else."

Kairi stopped walking and turned toward me. Selphie and Olette stood behind her, with matching grins as they watched Kairi.

"Namine, can you do me a huge favor?" Kairi asked. "Tonight at home, can you somehow find out what Riku really thinks of me? Find out if he truly likes me? I'll give you my cell number and you can call me right away. I have to know every detail about what he says and how he says it. Okay?" Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked at me, her smile hopeful. I felt as if she were entrusting me with an important task. And no one else could do this for her.

I nodded. "Sure," I promised.

"How was the first day of school?" Mom asked over dinner that night.

Family dinners consisted of the five of us eating in various places around the living room while watching TV. I sat on the floor, with my plate on the coffee table. "Fine," I answered.

"Not bad," Riku said, shrugging.

"Uh-huh," Cloud grunted, his eyes glued to the TV.

"Sounds like a great day," Dad said, smirking. "How was soccer practice, guys?"

"Good," Cloud said. "Coach says my blocks are looking great."

Dad nodded approvingly. "I knew all that practice this summer would improve your blocking," he said, "Not that it needed much improving." He grinned.

"So, Namine," Mom said, "how were your classes?"

Mom always asked that. And I knew that what she always really wanted to ask was, "Did you make any friends today?" It practically killed my mom that I wasn't as popular as she had been in school. My dad had been a soccer player, Terra Selene, and my mom a cheerleader, Aqua Rosealle. They were like the perfect, popular couple. They'd had two perfect, popular kids. And then they'd had me.

I'd spent my entire life convinced that I must have been adopted.

"My classes were fine," I said, stirring a cucumber around in a puddle of salad dressing on my plate. "I have a friend in my English class."

Mom's face lit up so much you'd think I had just told her Santa Claus was coming down the chimney right at that moment. "You do? Who is it?"

"Kairi Robbins," I said. "she's one of the kids who got transferred to Twilight from Traverse for the redistricting. We have a couple of classes together. And we know each other already because she – "

I caught myself just in time. I almost said that we knew each other because she was dating Roxas's brother. I had a feeling that spilling the beans about Kairi's relationship status in front of Riku probably wasn't the way to win her friendship.

But why shouldn't I say something? Kairi _was_ dating Sora. Riku had a right to know that before he had any serious thoughts about dating her.

And yet, I couldn't bring myself to say anything.

Maybe Kairi and Sora really weren't together anymore, I told myself. They could have broken up last night after I left Roxas's house. Kairi and Sora breaking up was nothing new. Every few months, they had a huge fight and swore they'd never speak to each other again. Then three weeks later, they were back together, proclaiming how they were soul mates.

But wouldn't Kairi have been upset today if they had broken up? Or maybe she had become so use to it that it didn't even bother her anymore?

I had to keep my mouth shut for a little while.

"How do you know Kairi?" Mom asked me.

"Oh," I said trying to think quickly, "We met at the community pool last year." I shoved a forkful of salad into my mouth and focused on chewing.

"I can't believe Kairi is a sophomore," Riku said through a mouthful of steak. "She seems so much more sophisticated. Sophomores are babies."

I rolled my eyes and pulled out a sketch pad and pencil.

"You were a sophomore just last year," Cloud reminded him.

Riku waved his hand. "Exactly my point. Last year, I was just a kid. This year, I'm much more mature." He let out a loud burp. "Excuse me. See? Last year I wouldn't have said excuse me after burping. This year I have manners."

Oh, please. When had he suddenly developed these manners? Right after he had held me down and farted on me two days ago?

"But there's something different about Kairi," Riku said. The corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile. "She's not like the other girls at school. Not like anyone I've ever met."

"You've only talked to her twice," I pointed out.

"But I can tell," Riku insisted. "She's special, I can feel it." He put his plate down on his knew and looked at me. "Namine, you have to help me get her."

I swallowed the food in my mouth. "Get her what?"

"You know, get her to go out with me. I haven't been able to stop thinking about her all day. Do you know if she's seeing anyone?"

This was it. This was the time to tell my brother the truth. Maybe I could break it to him gently.

But the way Riku looked at me made me remember the way Kairi had looked that afternoon. Riku and Kairi could become the most popular couple at Twilight High. And if I kept my mouth shut and went along for the ride, I could be popular too.

I didn't owe any loyalty to Sora anyway. What had he ever done for me?

I tried to push thoughts of Roxas out of mind as I said, "I don't think she's seeing anyone right now."

Riku smiled wide at me. "Great. Tomorrow I'll work my magic on Kairi Robbins."


End file.
